Spa: Zytek race report

Zytek Returns to Winning Ways
LMP2 champions class winners and first petrol car at Spa
Zytek Motorsport has returned to its winning ways with victory in
today's 1000km of Spa. Le Mans Series LMP2 champions Olivier Pla and
Miguel Amaral in the...

Zytek Returns to Winning Ways

LMP2 champions class winners and first petrol car at Spa

Zytek Motorsport has returned to its winning ways with victory in
today's 1000km of Spa. Le Mans Series LMP2 champions Olivier Pla and
Miguel Amaral in the Quifel-ASM Ginetta-Zytek 09SB took not only the
LMP2 class but also finished an impressive sixth place overall, the
first petrol-fuelled car home, irrespective of category.

The Portuguese team put behind it the problems of the opening round of
the LMS at Paul Ricard and, in typically difficult Spa-Francorchamps
conditions, gave a measured performance to win the class by over one
minute. The 09SB, which sported improved aerodynamics at the rear, ran
faultlessly for 130 laps. It was beaten overall only by five of the cars
that complete in the more powerful LMP1 class, all of them
factory-entered diesels from major car manufacturers. The win for the
privately entered team was, said Radio Le Mans, "richly deserved."

As last year at the daunting Belgian track, Olivier quickly moved up the
grid and into the lead of the LMP2 class. In 2009, his bid for victory
was thwarted when he was forced off the road by an LMP1 diesel. There
was no such drama this time. However, by making his initial pit stop
earlier than his rivals, the rapid Frenchman had fallen back by the end
of the first hour, A local power failure then caused the race to be red
flagged but this did not phase the team and before long Olivier was
involved in a close battle to retrieve the lead. With two hours of the
race remaining the Ginetta-Zytek was back up front in the LMP2 class, a
position that Miguel, who took over the wheel and who improves from race
to race, was able to safely maintain to the finish.

The next appearance for the Quifel-ASM team will be at the Le Mans
24-hours on the weekend of June 12-13. It will be joined there by fellow
LMP2 contestants, Team Bruichladdich (Ginetta-Zytek 09SB) and WR Salini
(WR-Zytek), all three cars using examples of the 3.4-litre Zytek ZG348,
which won the class at the French classic in 2007. A further
Ginetta-Zytek 09SB, that of Beechdean-Mansell Motorsport, has been
entered in the LMP1 class for 1992 Formula One World Champion, Nigel
Mansell and his sons, Greg and Leo.